Recap: From Street Talk Ent, against an elongated Serius Jones mired in way too many subpar punches throughout and only really scoring here and there when he went for the witty personals and fat jokes, a much more condensed and hitting Marv Won uses a variety of solid name flips, brash punchlines, wily personals and piercing street darts to earn a 30 in a 3-rounder between two longtime battle vets.
Verdict: Marv Won (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Marv Won – “Nigga, I smoked Ars now you, nigga I’m hanging up Jersey everywhere, nigga this the farewell tour!”
Recap: From Gates of the Garden, despite an elongated turn in this 1-rounder, a plethora of brash raps (and even a little wit here and there) from Mr. Mann makes for a solid effort. But way too many pedestrian bars and mundane pontificating from the Brooklyn battler coupled with Nu Jerzey Twork standing on ten toes throughout via a gang of sizzling name flips, flexing punchlines, piercing personals, stinging street darts, wily schemes and other boastful barbs gives Nu Jerooz an easy win.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “You think I showed up here for competition?, nigga read rooms, you up here rapping like you got clips for real, well Mr. Me Too!”
Recap: In what was at times a pretty tense 1-rounder from CMC Battle League, Tay Roc’s aggressive variant of sturdy gun bars, festive name flips, gritty punches and wicked personals proved to be more than enough to beat back a brash and pretty solid, but elongated and way too pedestrian at times effort from ATS Reck.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “My next decision, mask up less suspicion, I’m a stab ya, iron Dagger from Western Britain, buck-fifty, flesh is ripping, neck is dripping, cut him to the white meat, shit look like shredded chicken!”
Recap: From West World Battle Rap, a bunch of aggressive punches by Foet Dev keeps things competitive in this 1-rounder. But one too many pedestrian bars from Dev coupled with opponent T-Top’s versatile array of wicked set-up/punchlines, stirring name flips/metaphors, witty barbs and spirited trap talk hands the Bear an easy win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Top – “I’ll put money on ya head nigga, don’t ever think that Bizzy picky, I mean the whole band under one name like PrettyRicky!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from We Go Hard both Jay Love and First Lady Flamez kick that gritty street shit to go along with a gang of piercing name flips, sexual innuendo’s and brash punchlines. A competitive battle throughout, with an added mix of brash personals and consistently festive wordplay, it’s Flamez who scores more haymakers in each round for the win.
Verdict: First Lady Flamez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: First Lady Flamez – “I heard you a real ride or die for ya nigga’s tho, I’m cool with it, they gonna get the worst of it anyway ‘cuz of what Love got to do with it!”
Recap: From Street Talk Ent, both P.A.Y.N.E. and Cortez bring an extra pint of hardbody punches, flexing gun bars, piercing name flips and gutsy street bars to this competitive 3-rounder. However it’s the slightly more consistently-lit Cortez, who along with a fiery arsenal of frenetic darts brought with him a bunch of stinging personals, some potent wordplay, righteous heaters and a nice freestyle to start his round 2, who takes rounds 1 and 3 (call the 2nd debatable) for the win.
Verdict: Cortez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Cortez – “The only pictures of P.A.Y.N.E. [pain] I ever fely was the one’s in the obituary!”
Recap: A fire 3-rounder from Don’t Flop between Bigg K and British battle rapper Scoop sees the latter keep it competitive through and through with a boatload of righteous darts/personals, graphic/violence-prone heaters and a brash punch-game that lit the scoreboard often. However, already armed with a crazy and slightly more condensed lyrically snapping palette of his own for all 3 rounds, Bigg K’s added mix of witty personals, a dope rebuttal to start his 3rd round, some solid hometown bangers and a shitload of piercing name flips, after a debatable opening round, it’s the faintly more bar heavy K who edges both of the latter rounds for the win.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Bigg K – “This nerd do spoken word, from the soul we see devotion, a gun will make you run, put poetry in motion!”
Recap: From Only The Real Battle League, sometimes you gotta know your limitations. And one thing’s becoming more and more evident: Swamp ain’t built to be battling so often. Indeed, a recent poor showing against Coffee Brown and now choking in the 3rd here against A. Ward…granted the bills gotta be paid on time and he’s doing the right thing lately in shortening his rounds, but I’m guessing that Swamp is at his best battling say, every other month than every other 2nd or 3rd week like he seems to be doing of late. That said with Swamp unleashing a bunch of brash/witty punches and religion-themed personal disses while Ward fought back with a gang of lucid personals, solid punchlines and fiery rebuttals/freestyles, a debatable round 1 was followed up by a more haymaker-lit Swamp handily taking round 2. However, midway through what was a pretty solid turn Swamp would unexpectedly choke (allegedly to the point of even pulling out his phone) before Ward would allow him to get it back to finish his round. That huge Earl moment, however (the choke itself was cut from the video) long it was, allowed A. Ward sans any stumbles or slip-ups, to deliver another solid, righteous at times and punch-heavy round for the win.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 2-1
Favorite line: A. Ward – “The Bible says tho shalt not kill, that’s a true fact, Swamp I don’t shoot at people in battles, I shoot back!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, running with a consistent (and often potent) theme all battle of his opponent Elijah Strait (who had some fire punches here and there) allegedly copying his style, but also hitting on all cylinders when it came to piercing name flips, wily gun bars, solid personals and most importantly crazy set-up/punchlines as well as fire similes, outside of a 3rd round that was a bit a close (but also taking advantage of Elijah’s frequent reaches and subpar punches, esp. in both of the earlier rounds) it’s a workmanlike showing by Rum Nitty that earns him the 30.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Your life a lie, but you paint the image that you sliding daily and you some faithful Christian, that’s why we hate him really, nigger you not who you think you are…Clayton Bigsby!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle, a fire 3-rounder between Pass and Yunus. The latter taking round 1, thanks in part with his opponent struggling with his flow, but also via heavy combo of fire personals (including styling on Pass’ ‘Town Bidness’ slogan), flexing wordplay/metaphors and fiery punchlines. Round 2 while close gets edged by Pass, the Bay-area vet stepping it up with a wide array of lyrical (“They say Pass tense, that’s past tense and in that sense I’m right back if I do the sentence, but when the mask off it’s really like that for future reference!”) stunting, righteous punches and witty personals to edge a dope and personal-drenched, but slightly less potent round by Yunus. Tied going into the 3rd, Pass’ continual name-calling, brash raps and piercing punchlines proved to be competitive. But with an equally cutthroat turn of mocking/stinging personals, fire similes and loaded set-up/punchlines, Yunus would meet the challenge and force a debatable.
Verdict: Debatable
Favorite line: Yunus – “Listen bro, I spit feared quotes and torch the scene, you a joke, a mid-tier GOAT, Joran meme!”
Recap: From Calicoe’s Black Mafia Battle League, Aye Verb makes all his haters a little nervous after utilixing some excellent wordplay and wily personals to edge round here versus JC. But after an elongated and mostly pedestrian opening round that had to fill the crowd with doubters, in both of the latter rounds JC gets back on his transcendent grind and gets back to business. The Michigan vet also using a gang of posturing personals, gritty punches, fiery storytelling/name-calling, boastful barbs and stinging gun bars in a more consistent fashion to handily take round 2 and even things out before doing the same in the deciding 3rd for the win against an opponent who had long before ran out of steam.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “It don’t take that much to be a man, try it once, nigga you ran from Hitman like he was a licensed one!”
Recap: In a 1-rounder from We Go Hard that featured both battlers, Chess and Fettuccine 20, unleashing a gang of gritty punches/gun bars, witty barbs and solid personals, while also mocking each other slogan’s, the more condensed Chess’ slick wordplay and filler-less round leads to a higher quotient of haymakers and the win.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chess – “Nigga, you ain’t even tough, I see you bluff and beat you up, boy I’m known for hands, let’s see if 20 equal up!”
Recap: In this 3-rounder from Hunger Gamez, an earnest effort from Mosca Flux, complete with a bunch of solid name flips, gritty street and struggle bars as well as aggressive punches, gets handily beat back in all 3 rounds by First Lady Flamez. The Richmond, VA, vixen deftly utilizing a gang of hitting gun bars, flexing wordplay/similes, boastful barbs and more consistently banging punchlines to earn the 30.
Verdict: First Lady Flamez (W) 3-0
Favorite line: First Lady Flamez – “My favorite shooter used to be homeless, he say the streets intense!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, in a fiery, competitive and dope 3-rounder that featured a gang of sizzling name flips, piercing metaphors, stinging gun bars, flippant (that ‘raccoon’ line in round 1 by Chess was crazy) personals and brash punches from both battlers, after taking an ‘L’ to the more haymaker-lit Chess in round 1, a turned-up Swamp adds some wit and righteous bars to the mix and in both of the latter rounds the South Carolina emcee offers up a plate of more consistent darts that during condensed (Chess was still banging, but elongated and less potent in the 2nd and 3rd) turns that earned Swamp the edge in each round for the comeback win.
Verdict: Swamp (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Swamp – “Why the fuck you be walking around so angry for, is it because you little or something?, you think just ‘cuz your name Chess [chest] you always gotta be in the middle of something?”
Recap: As usual, an earnest effort from Real Deal, complete with plenty of righteous personals (esp. during a pretty dope round 3) and empathetic/solid punches that often hit and kept things competitive. But despite the steady comp from his opponent, in this 3-rounder from Street Talk Ent, it’s a gun bar blazing, gritty punching, street shit spazzing and personal-lit Nu Jerzey Twork (that ‘diamond tester’ sequence in the 3rd was also crazy) who lands more haymakers in each round to earn the 30.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “That shit you don’t know bro, all this shit this bitch popping, nigga talking about me stealing a purse…so the fuck what?, quick option!”
Recap: From URL’s “Outside 4” card, apparently not taking his opponent J2 seriously, T-Top fucks around and almost has himself a debatable. Bizzy struggling a bit with his flow mid-round and with the help of a turned-up and consistently punch-heavy J2, losing the opening round. Round 2 would be a different story as the Bear’s wit, raucous street bars and gritty punchlines, in opposition to a mostly subpar round by 2, would allow T-Top to come back and even things up heading into the 3rd. The deciding round was close, what with J2 scoring with plenty of fat jokes amongst other eccentric darts, but with a gang of witty gay jokes of his own to go along with some fiery punches, it’s the slightly more haymaker-lit Top who edges the 3rd for the win.
Verdict: T-Top (W) 2-1
Favorite line: T-Top – “Man, I’m the first nigga in my family to publicly have the story told, and you the first nigga on the other side of the glory hole!”
Recap: Dope, competitive, 3-rounder from URL’s Outside 4 card between Jey The Nitewing and Tay Roc sees the former utilize a boatload of clever wordplay, fiery name flips, righteous darts and solid personals/punchlines to stay in the bout. On the other hand, a well-prepared and geographically-lit Roc provided a steady mix of sturdy gun bars, fierce name flips, witty/mocking personals and gritty punches. However, after a slightly more haymaker-lit Roc took round 1 before JTN returned the favor in round 2, it’s a more steady hitting and versatile Roc who ends up taking the deciding 3rd round for the win.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “I don’t care if you’re Samoan, Tongan, Polynesian, I don’t care if you’re Hawaiian, Tahitian, Malaysian, metal squeezing, quickly body ya, for a fee G [Fiji] it ain’t have to be this Pacific Islander!”
Recap: From Street Talk Ent, funny how you can sometimes get less potent with each passing round, but still manage to hold on and pull off a win. Such was the case here with Chess, who in a 3-round battle that took place outside on the street against Kev Bless, used a gang of gritty punches, solid wordplay and fiery gun bars in a much more consistent and condensed opening round to take things there. However, admittedly a bit lethargic from battling so often of late, while still earnest and full of grit with his bars, a mostly pedestrian round 2 from Chess would still get the checkmark thanks to yet another elongated and mostly subpar turn by his opponent. Thanks in part to Chess cutting his final round short only a minute in, a turned up Bless (witty and hard-hitting at times, but drenched in too many wily pontifications and resident name flips in the earlier rounds) would put it all together, lace the crowd with a pretty solid punch-fest and handily take the 3rd to avoid a shutout.
Verdict: Chess (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chess – “You said you was in group homes and stuff, well I could make you so viral from this battle, that nigga I could get you and your folks in touch!”
Recap: From Street Talk Ent, not sure what exactly unleashed “The Dawg” in what was a crazy 3rd round by Bigg K, but damn! That said, here against the always gritty and aggressive J Murda, outside of a pretty competitive opening round that the more haymaker-lit Bigg K took in the end, this 3-round battle was pretty one-sided. K utilizing a gang of flexing gun bars, hard-hitting 4-bar set-up/punchlines, some (esp. in the aforementioned round 3) fire rebuttals, witty barbs and stinging name flips to also take both of the latter rounds over a J Murda who had the right idea/theme (when it came to personals) in round 2, but couldn’t deliver the execution, before a subpar 3rd (along with K’s comeuppance) finished him for good.
Verdict: Bigg K (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Bigg K – “They like what’s up with J Murda, he ain’t nothing to play with, I’m like I ain’t caught his last 20 battles but he’s one of my favorites!”
Recap: From Bags and Bodies, E-Hart and Shotgun Suge in a competitive 3-rounder filled with plenty of fiery gun bars, gritty street talk, solid name flips and mocking/witty personals from both battlers. And while Suge kept it pretty succinct throughout, while Hart on the other was a little elongated, nonetheless the battle stayed close. Still, it’s the more haymaker-lit Suge who takes round 1. Round 2 would see Hart up her wordplay and punch game, but a surprising couple of slip-ups mid-round by the Bronx vet would hand Suge the edge (and the win) in what was otherwise a very winnable round. Continuing to flex her hard-hitting raps in a consistent and clean fashion in the 3rd would allow Hart to salvage the round, despite a pretty solid effort from Suge.
Verdict: Shotgun Suge (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Shotgun Suge – “You thought you was gonna beat me, what that ’bout?, I feel right at home we had bags and bodies at my trap house!”
Recap: From OSBL, Chef Trez and Prep (they previously did a 1v1 on URL and a 2-on-2 on GOTG) meet up for the 3rd time on a battle stage and this one is a goodie. Prep, after a bit of a slow start, kept it entertaining and competitive with a bunch of wily punches, solid name flips, hitting freestyles and lucid personals/schemes. However, apparently choosing to save his strong rebuttal game for the end of his round instead of the start, this one was all Chef. Trez adeptly utilizing a gang of head-ringing gun bars, fire punchlines, killer wordplay, fiery name flips and even some witty personals to score more than enough haymakers and earn the win in this 1-rounder.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “It’s drill week, I’ll really spin in this bitch, catch Dirty Prep outside like an Indian dish!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from The Boiler Room ATL, Skully G Da Alley Kid delivers a hitting at times, but elongated and mostly pedestrian gun bar and name flip-fest that ironically gave opponent Chef Trez plenty to work with. The ATL vet utilizing a plethora of sizzling (I had like 7 of ’em, including an ‘Ice Spice’ rebut near the end of his round) rebuttals, flashy gun lines, brash punchlines, fiery freestyles and piercing personals during a sublime (i.e. classic) turn that reminded everyone that there’s different levels to this shit.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Don’t try to play me closer, that’s what you get shot for, buck shot, blow the hinges off the entrance…no more locked doors!”
Recap: Versus a one-time rising star in Bangz who stopped taking battle rap seriously (he displays that once again here with a plethora of subpar name flips before quitting on his round) a long time ago, Charlie Clips utilizes a gang of flexing name flips, some solid rebuttals/freestyles and a bunch of brash/witty punchlines/personals to earn a rare body bag in this 1-rounder from Black Diamond Battle League.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “This nigga name is Bangz, take a look at him y’all, he was born dead, nigga ain’t even lose his tooth on some street shit, nigga bit too much in a cornbread!”
Recap: From Street Talk Ent, while taking advantage of an opponent in Steams who got off to a slow start in each of the opening rounds (before excelling in the latter half of both via a gritty punch game and boatloads of feelgood wordplay), a more consistently hitting Geechi Gotti would utilize a gang of brash punchlines, fire name flips, pretty solid personals, rugged street talk and sturdy gun bars to take rounds 1 and 2 for the win before dishing more of the same in the 3rd to handily beat back a pedestrian Steams and earn the 30.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I came from out of state, soon as I landed they hand me scraps, chopper under the arm like crutches, told you I’m a Crip not a handicap!”
Recap: From Street Talk ENT (RIP Bishop Brigante), in this 3-round bout between A. Ward and Swave Sevah that featured plenty of Biblical references, religious pontifications and brash punches, after getting edged in the opening round to the slightly more haymaker-lit Sevah, A. Ward adds some witty personals, a strong rebuttal game, fiery wordplay/schemes and a bunch of gritty punchlines to take rounds 2 and 3 over a less consistent opponent for the comeback win.
Verdict: A. Ward (W) 2-1
Favorite line: A. Ward – “I’m loco, I been on the champion list for the last 5 years and earned a pretty penny, even you know the vision not the same, you ain’t been able to see me since 2020 [20/20]!”
Recap: In this No Jumper/La Plaga 1-rounder, Chess utilizes a boatload of piercing name flips to set himself apart in what was otherwise a pretty even battle vs. Whosane. The Young Gawd and for the former URL PG battler staying competitive when it came to gritty punches, fly set-ups and feelgood wordplay, yet it’s the more consistently hitting Chess who scored more haymakers and ultimately earned the win.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chess – “You see this the predator verse the prey, but I forgot y’all slow, this was the jungle, I’m the lion and Who’s there, it ain’t a knock knock joke!”
Recap: From West World Battle Rap (RIP Billy Boondocks), against a Bill Collector who started off well with variety of solid punches that kept him competitive until he succumbed to one many cookie cutter raps past the midway mark, Real Name Brandon leaves earth. The West-coast EFB member using a blistering round of gritty, street-themed punchlines, sturdy name flips, a gang of killer wordplay/similes, brash personals and graphic hardbody darts in a flawless turn that handily earned the win in this 1-rounder.
Verdict: Real Name Brandon (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Real Name Brandon – “If I was down to that last 8-ball then your pocket picked, we was robbing him, I’m the first nigga to swing…Jackie Robinson!”
Recap: From Bags and Bodies, Viixen the Assassin and Nu Jerzey Twork go at it for 3 rounds with plenty of loud, competitive heat in both of the opening rounds, before they ran out of gas in the 3rd, but one moreso than the other. When she wasn’t promoting her OnlyFans account, a charged-up Viixen lit the stage up with a bunch of fiery schemes, gritty/brash punches, solid name flips, scintillating gun bars and scathing personals. On the other hand Twork came with a barrage of hard-hitting personals of his own that coupled with gang of fierce 1,2 punches and dope similes edged him round 1, before Viixen returned the favor in round 2 despite a dope rebuttal from NJT to start off his turn. Tied up going into round 3 Viixen calmed down just a bit, but still let off a plethora of blistering personals and hard punchlines in a turn that was otherwise pedestrian and beatable. However, not even halfway through his 3rd, Twork would get a case of Earl’s and tho he did try to freestyle for a bit, after a minute he’d give up, stop his round and take the L.
Verdict: Viixen The Assassin (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Viixen The Assassin – “I’m the opposite of Twork, I’m a stand-up bitch!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, Hollow Da Don and Jaz The Rapper square off for 3 rounds and for the most part it’s a goodie. A confident, pretty consistent and aggressive Jaz utilizing a gang of hard-hitting personals, solid name flips, violence-prone shiners, rich 4-bar set-up/punchlines/storytelling, hometown Houston bars that exposed some well conducted research and fiery schemes to get her point across. While da Don’s unorthodox stylings scored aplenty when it came to brash word association darts, stinging/witty personals of his own, wily schemes/name flips and solid freestyles. A battle that should also be noted for the normally stoic-throughout-when-he’s-not-rapping-Hollow getting a little emotional and tight here and there when Jaz get in on some ‘fake’ angles/personals as well as a surprisingly pedestrian 2nd round (which gives battle rap fans who feel that top tier male battle rappers take it easy when facing Jaz more to talk about) from Hollow, sees the more versatile and consistently-lit Don edge round 1, before a haymaker-lit Jaz handily took round 2 to tie things up. The deciding 3rd, while more competitive than the previous round, still featured more of the same flexing, angle-lit and steadily punch-heavy darts from Jaz, which despite a mostly solid effort from Hollow, earned Jaz the comeback win.
Verdict: Jaz The Rapper (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Jaz The Rapper – “Is this a grudge match?, hardly, it’s not a mirror match sorry, I hate to be that girl but Hollow ‘What are we?’!”
Recap: From CaliPlug, Geechi Gotti (Crip) vs. Aktive (Crip) for 3 rounds in a battle that as expected was heavy on the gang talk/culture throughout. However, after a pretty solid, often punch-heavy on both sides debatable round 1, in both of the latter two rounds Geechi would take off and them some, while Aktive (tho he did land a few haymakers here and there) just couldn’t keep up to his opponent’s consistency or potency. The Compton, CA, battle vet handily taking rounds 2 and 3 with bouts of wit, a plethora of brash punchlines, stinging name flips, wily personals and resident/hard-hitting screeds/history lessons on the L.A. gang life for the win.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I know Tyrone hoping that I take him light, but I can’t tonight, Dog I’m home, I’m the type to slap your sister then make you fight!”
Recap: Against an aggressive, but mostly subpar-punching Uneek, First Lady Flamez has as easy time of it. The Richmond, VA, battler using a potent mix of graphic/violence-prone punchlines, piercing name flips, storied gun bars, brash personals and flexing wordplay to handily take this 1-rounder.
Verdict: First Lady Flamez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: First Lady Flamez – “It’s nothing about your flow that’s nice, and those arm movements be pissing me off bad, Brenda must’ve had you baby ‘cuz your delivery is trash!”
Recap: From T.O.Y.S Rap Battle League, a plethora of wily gun bars and gritty punches from both sides in this 3-rounder. But via some random wit, fiery performance-heavy darts, fierce personals and a bunch of hard-hitting name flips, despite a solid effort from opponent Foet Dev, an also more consistently hitting Coffee Brown earns the 3-0.
Verdict: Coffee Brown (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “I will walk up on you and approach son, up one, like fuck is a demon?, I got a ghost gun!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, in what was a highly charged 3-round bout, Rum Nitty edged out Daylyt 2-1 in a battle full of flair, fire and of course on Daylyt’s part, highly questionable behavior. Indeed, a performance-lit Nitty came out swinging in round one, delivering a flawless barrage of gritty set-up/punchlines, clever name flips, mocking personals (that included donning an Alien mask), and piercing similes—cementing the round as an instant classic. And while Daylyt fought back with his signature abstract wordplay, solid schemes and righteous syntax, ‘The Quill’ couldn’t muster up near enough haymakers to stand a chance in round 1. Then ‘Lyt would shock the entire crowd in round 2, completely unraveling by prematurely ‘ending’ his round twice (and giving the impression that he choked both times) before finishing his turn. The irony appearing in the fact that while Nitty had a pretty good round 2, it was was still beatable, yet Daylyt pretty much handed the round to his opponent by pulling out one of his head-scratching gimmicks. And while Daylyt did bounce back (tho he did have some reaches here and there) with an inspired, high-minded round three full of potent name flips and layered schemes to edge it there and avoid the sweep, Nitty’s more consistent heat in both of the opening rounds already secured him the W.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Let’s battle rap, I don’t think fam is ready, adversaries, get bagged and buried, clap the Desi, I stock nigga’s dead in they track…like Machiavelli!”
Recap: Can’t recap this Bags and Bodies 3-rounder between Hitman Holla and Ms. Hustle without first giving props to Hitman for releasing it on YouTube only a few days after it took place. That doesn’t happen often, especially when it’s a couple of top tier’s. Moving on, Holla with a wide (including a couple of rebuttals) arsenal of solid punches, righteous chit-chat, witty/hitting (“You got all these dudes to write for you, but can’t find one man to do right by you!”) personals and boastful barbs for the most (the latter half of his 3rd round was definitely a bit underwhelming at times) part kept it competitive throughout. While on the other hand an often animated (she even pulled out a so-so remix in round 1) Hustle kept it G with a gang of piercing gun bars, mocking personals, gritty punchlines, solid struggle bars and just angles when she wasn’t spiling the tea on her fallout with former bestie Remy Ma. That said, it’s a more haymaker-lit Holla who takes round 1, before a debatable 2nd and a way more steadily hitting Hustle took the 3rd to make this battle even-steven.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Ms. Hustle – “Just stop trying to be a Blood type and go be [B] positive!”
Recap: When it comes down to picking a venue for a battle rap event, cost is an obvious priority, but so to is demographics when it comes to fanbase and location. That said, while Marqo Mazii delivered an earnest effort in this URL/T-Top Presents “No Cut” 3-rounder, what with a bunch of gritty punches and witty dalliances, it’s a turned-up Geechi Gotti, armed with a plethora of brash punchlines, a fly rebuttal or two, piercing trap talk, feelgood personals and solid name flips in a much more consistent trio of rounds than his opponent, who earns the 30 for win in front of an at-best, lackluster crowd.
Verdict: Geechi Gotti (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Geechi Gotti – “I ain’t feeling him, get a whole knife stuck in dude, T-Top said it’s no cut, so what?, it’s a puncture wound!”
Recap: From We Go Hard, an opener that featured a gang of nifty wordplay, gritty punches, piercing name flips and flexing personals made for a debatable round 1, but from there Steams just couldn’t keep up. Th3 Saga getting in his bag (while taking advantage of quite a few reaches from his opponent) and going ham with a plethora of crazy, nuanced set-up/punchlines, boastful barbs, Godly screeds, hitting personals, clever name flips and other sizzling repartee/performance-rich bars to take both (round 2 with its sublime bar structure, themes and set-up/punchlines being a classic) of the latter two rounds over a still solid, but not as substantive or consistent Steams for the win.
Verdict: Th3 Saga (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Th3 Saga – “If you don’t wanna see the route of a psycho dead it, a cold corpse, but if I go psycho with a 762 it ain’t gonna spike your credit!”
Recap: T-Rex versus Nu Jerzey Twork for 3 rounds on URL/T-Top’s “No Cut” card, stays competitive and close throughout. A performance-lit Rex keeping it tried and true with a gang of boastful barbs, witty/hard-hitting punches and sturdy street talk, while Twork stood up to the Harlem vet with a bunch of fiery gun bars, gritty street darts of his own, solid name flips and fiending punchlines. Add to the mix a couple of spicy rebuttals by NJT to start his 2nd round and you’re left with the more condensed/substantive Rex edging round 1, before a slightly more haymaker-lit Twork edges rounds 2 and 3 for the win.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “Nigga, we all can tell pain, the cops raided the crib we all had smell change [???], they came to clean house, like Cinderella, we was having a ball till 12 came!”
Recap: While it’s common knowledge that a “bad” Charlie Clips still has the gusto to get through and win battles via his amazing freestyle ability, such wouldn’t be the case here. The Harlem vet, after edging round 1 of this 3-round “The Cut” bout from T-Top/URL with just enough wicked personals, wit, solid schemes and off-the dome (freestyling and pointing out that Casey Jay stole that ‘Anthony Davis’ line is something few battle rappers can do) theatrics to get past a pretty solid round from his opponent, before getting somewhat lazy and overdoing (esp. when it came to whining to T-Top about how he put together the battle) the freestyles in the latter rounds. Casey, versatile throughout her 3 rounds when it came to punches, personals and mayhem-lit darts, but matching Charlie’s mostly pedestrian synergy in round 2 to force a tie there, before dishing a punch-heavy 3rd that in the face of a pretty long and lackluster turn by Clips, handily gave the Bardashian the win there and allowed for a debatable.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Casey Jay – “This a I’m a start my diet tomorrow head ass nigger!”
Recap: From Mic Murdaraz TV, despite a pretty solid, gritty and often personal/punch-heavy (that “Simpsons” bar was fire) round from Project Prime that made this 1-rounder pretty competitive and close towards the end, a slightly more condensed JC, via a gang of hard-hitting gun bars, boastful barbs/schemes and stinging punchlines, manages to score more haymakers and edge what ended up being a dope battle.
Verdict: JC (W) 1-0
Favorite line: JC – “See in my world, if I go off in a blind fury then it’s just off top with me, see this a violent game, this kind of [reign] rain just too dangerous, even my brainstorm cause climate change!”
Recap: From URL, while E. Ness’ 1-2 body punches and vociferous (to be fair, Roc called ‘cap’ on like half of them) personals scored at times (esp. the more witty ones) and made for an earnest effort in this 3-rounder. Helped a bit by his opponent’s elongated rounds and often pedestrian bars, through the use of a highly efficient gun bar game, a gang of rich similes, fiery wordplay, solid name flips/personals and stinging/graphic-lit punches, a more substantive Tay Roc manages to take each round for the Gentleman’s 30.
Verdict: Tay Roc (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Tay Roc – “All y’all nigga’s vs. one pistol, let’s see who jump the gun!”
Recap: In this highly competitive 1-rounder from The Platform Battles, while Jay Day Guy and T-Rex both supply the earnest trap talk, fiery street bars and boastful barbs, it’s the slightly more bar efficient Rex who edges the win over his elongated opponent.
Verdict: T-Rex (W) 1-0
Favorite line: T-Rex – “Good work always sell itself, you understand that, the coke so raw the stamp on it say ‘Bareback’!”
Recap: From Takeova Battle League, a close one here between Charlie Clips and Cheyraq. The latter keeping it competitive with a boatload of witty fat jokes, steely punches and hard street bars, while Clips kept it G with a gang of hard-hitting personals of his own, fiery schemes, plenty of boastful barbs and of course, a shitload of hitting rebuttals and freestyles that in the end allowed the Harlem vet to edge rounds 1 and 2 for the win before a debatable 3rd.
Verdict: Charlie Clips (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Charlie Clips – “I will murk you, fuck you and your little circle, confused bitch got on all this pink, but your pussy purple!”
Recap: From URL, not a good look for Swamp, who after competing pretty hard in round 1 of this 3-rounder versus Coffee Brown, seemed to become fazed by a lethargic crowd that to be fair didn’t seemed enthused by either one of the battlers on stage throughout the battle. A bit perturbed, the South Carolina vet seemingly choose to cut both of his latter rounds short and give way to a Coffee Brown who ignored the wearisome onlookers and stayed on point via a gang of fiery/mocking personals, blistering trap talk and consistently gritty punches to earn an easy 30.
Verdict: Coffee Brown (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Coffee Brown – “I don’t wanna shit about parenting when you left all your baby mamas alone, Daddy was a rolling stone. Swamp ran through, that’s Indiana Jones!”
Recap: From URL, out-barring opponent Snake Eyez at every turn, especially when it came to substantive street darts, similes, wordplay, name flips, storytelling, personals, set-up/punchlines and even (considering how aggressive Snake usually is) animated/mayhem-lit violence, an also much more condensed Rum Nitty scores more haymakers in each round and handily catches a 30 on Mr. One-Eye Willy.
Verdict: Rum Nitty (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Rum Nitty – “Raise the heat, pistol whip, recognize features…like face ID!”
Recap: Funny how leading off in this Bags & Bodies 1-rounder, Kapo Bravado asked Chef Trez not to do any rebuttals. And after listening to Kapo’s raps–a pretty dope combo of hard-hitting street bars, personals and set-up/punchlines–it’s no wonder he thought he could win without the Chef’s inevitable off-the-dome heat. Too bad for Kapo tho as the Chef would use his turn to not only lace his opponent with a gutsy (including a mid-rounder) 3 of them things, but also spout a gang of sturdy gun bars, gritty punches, wicked wordplay and stinging personals to score more than enough haymakers for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “He was never safe, but y’all should’ve told I been with it, fuck short notice, my Prep nice enough to beat 6 nigger’s!”
Recap: From Mic Masters Alliance, a dope and highly competitive 3-rounder between 40 B.A.R.R.S. and Danny Myers comes down to the final round. The Bar God dishing out a bunch of vicious name flips, mayhem-lit punches and salacious personals to edge round 1 despite a pretty solid turn by 40, before the Team 40 president/CEO upped her wordplay game and with a consistent round filled with hard-hitting personals and stinging punchlines, edged the 2nd round despite a fiery and witty (esp. when it came to the old jokes) turn by Danny that included a couple of fire rebuttals. The deciding 3rd would be a boastful, personal-lit and a punch-fest on both sides. And while 40 would need to recover her bars mid-way through her round due to constant interruptions from the crowd, her wicked pen game contained just enough more haymakers to take the round and the win.
Verdict: 40 B.A.R.R.S. (W) 2-1
Favorite line: 40 B.A.R.R.S. – “Picture a nigga saying I’m not top 5, after all I’ve done, I swear to God I would’ve felt ashamed, but it’s clear that Bar God name don’t hit the same when it’s only self-proclaimed!”
Recap: From T.O.S Battle League, gritty with the punches, rich with the metaphors/name flips and expansive with the vocab…K Vemon spouted a competitive effort here for 3 rounds against Chef Trez. But never one to underestimate his opponent, after out-punching Venom in round 1 to handily take the opener, the Chef’s continuous display of sturdy gun bars, mocking personals, stifling off-the-dome heat and hard-hitting punchlines in enough to take the deciding (after getting edged in round 2) 3rd round for the win.
Verdict: Chef Trez (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Chef Trez – “Mac 10 load bra, hit his bro up, then give Ven mo [Venmo] bucks, I’m sending money through!”
Recap: Simply put, another day at the office for the Landlord. Fonz beating back a mostly pedestrian effort from Bill Collector with a consistent barrage of fiery name flips, bullish darts, feelgood wordplay, hitting punches and personals to handily catch a 30 in this 3-rounder from T-Top’s “No Cut” card.
Verdict: Fonz (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Fonz – “You let a nigga touch and you laughed about it…oh you ticklish?!”!”
Recap: From Houston Bar Code, spirited and mayhem-lit with the punches while adding just enough solid name flips and spicy wordplay to the mix, allows Chess to edge this 1-rounder over Swav, who while richly dipped in hazardous street bar aesthetics, went a little overboard with the ‘chest’ name flips and other pedestrian (esp. when it came to the personals) bars.
Verdict: Chess (W) 1-0
Favorite line: Chess – “Nigga, I have to hurt you, I’m talking eyes black and purple, he cause a show, I’ll make a movie then fly back commercial!”
Recap: From T-Top’s “No Cut” card, against the leisurely but gritty polemics of Clone, Woosaah uses some sturdy wordplay, righteous gun bars, mocking personals and hard-hitting punchlines to score more haymakers and take both of the opening rounds for the win before a surge by Clone in the final round allowed for a debatable there.
Verdict: Woosaah (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Woosaah – “I don’t know much about taking a test, but I could tell you an autopsy look like a state exam!”
Recap: From T.O.S. Battle League, deftly mixing up rigorous street talk with proverbial Bible verses, solid name flips and gritty punchlines/personals, after a debatable round 1 (thanks in part to a couple of dope rebuttals from A. Ward), a more consistently hitting Tru Foe takes both of the latter rounds for the win in this mostly competitive 3-rounder.
Verdict: Tru Foe (W) 2-1
Favorite line: True Foe – “They believe in Tru words, the way I led my people to the water they respect me in Flint!”
Recap: From Bags n Bodies and The Riot, a crazy 3-rounder between Pristavia and Coffee Brown filled with a boatload of salacious (both sides) personals, righteous darts, Christian-themed disses (CB), syrupy name flips (Pristavia), gritty punchlines, unapologetically ratchet (CB) and fiery schemes/wordplay (Pristavia) comes down to round 3 after the two (Pristavia taking round 1 and Coffee taking round 2) split the opening rounds. However, round 3 while showcasing pretty solid turns from both battlers, would be edged by the slightly more punch/personal-heavy and consistently hitting Pristavia in what was a well-earned win.
Verdict: Pristavia (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Pristavia – “If you say you got knuckles you gonna have to stand on that like a primate!”
Recap: From Black Ice Cartel, utilizing a potent mix of death-gripping punchlines, morbid wordplay, boastful barbs, cold name flips and otherworldly graphic/mayhem-lit darts, JC is able to take the first two rounds for the win and beat back a pretty solid and gritty effort from Showstoppa, who still had enough oomph to come back with a personal and punch-heavy 3rd to edge it there and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: JC (W) 2-1
Favorite line: JC – “We here for everything, I’m even taking a cut off top if you selling dreams!”
Recap: After inexcusably losing his footing and choking midway through what was, up until then, a terrific round 1 of this BMBL Winter Madness 3-rounder vs. Bill Collector, Ill Will gets back on his grind and delivers a superb (i.e. classic) 2nd round to even things up. The Pontiac, MI, vet going ham with a hard-hitting variety of stinging 4-bar set-up/punchlines, witty/mocking personals, steely wordplay, dope name flips, solid local-themed raps and piercing gun bars/street darts before doing more of the same (esp. when it came to a bunch of salacious personals) to handily take the deciding 3rd for the win over a name flip-lit, witty at times and often animated when it came to the punches, but overall not nearly as punch heavy or consistent BC.
Verdict: Ill Will (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Ill Will – “Bill, you could spit, but you the make us laugh type, I spit the shit that make your bitch throw the neck at me like a giraffe fight!”
Recap: In this 1-rounder from The 147 Block, despite a minor, mid-round slip-up, a more condensed J Morr’s filthy barrage of daunting gun bars, potent punchlines and graphic street bars combine and score enough haymakers to edge a gritty and versatile, but altogether elongated and slightly less steady effort from Bad Newz.
Verdict: J Morr (W) 1-0
Favorite line: J Morr – “Nigga I sold the best, with no Connect, I live in Airplane mode!”
Recap: In my opinion URL should’ve released these Redemption 4 battles one day after the next on their own and let them breath individually instead of dumping them out on one day. Nonetheless, a goodie here between Kyd Slade and Nu Jerzey Twork. The former making the drug game proud with boatload of hitting trap talk, while also scoring with a gang of filthy street bars and lofty gun lines. On the other hand a scintillating Twork rocked the crowd with a shitload of stinging personals, spitfire punchline/similes, witty barbs, fly wordplay and piercing gun bars/name flips. A fiery and competitive 3-rounder all the way through, it’s the more punch-heavy and haymaker-lit NJT who would take both of the opening rounds for the win, before an equally efficient on both sides 3rd would force a debatable there.
Verdict: Nu Jerzey Twork (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Nu Jerzey Twork – “If y’all think children are the future then I’m Russell Wilson!”
Recap: From Chrome 23, through a variety of consistently hitting punchlines, wily personals, witty barbs and slick/mayhem-induced bars, Mackk Myron manages to score more haymakers and edge rounds 1 and 2 here for the win over the gritty stylings of a less steady Tex. Tho the Philly battler/up-n-comer, already armed with a gang of gully street darts, a sturdy flow and flexing wordplay, was able to put it all together with a superb 3rd to handily take the final round over a much less substantiative Mackk and avoid the shutout.
Verdict: Mackk Myron (W) 2-1
Favorite line: Mackk Myron – “You mad nigga?, I finna hit that kill button, I’m the Equalizer, i read the room then I kill something!”
Recap: From URL’s Redemption 4 card, while taking advantage of his opponent oft-choppy flow in both of the opening rounds, Lu Castro also scores with a bunch of righteous darts, blistering Christian-themed disses/punches, witty barbs and hitting personals to score a 30 over a Loso who while earnest, fiery and competitive in his raps, contributed to his defeat with way too many slip-ups and pedestrian bars.
Verdict: Lu Castro (W) 3-0
Favorite line: Lu Castro – “This nigger walk around so arrogant ‘cuz OTFMZ voted him the most sexy battle rapper…and half the panel was men!”
Recap: A fire URL 3-round “Redemption 4” card battle here between Jerry Wess and Chef Trez, showcases each battler on their A-game. The Chef, on point as usual with a boatload of stealth (“You are not Chef, you better move away before this tool get sprayed, I’ll have a switch for Wess [West] out the blue like the Luka trade!”) gun bars, fiery name flips, clever “How to scam right” tutorials and stinging off-the dome heat. Meanwhile, Mr. Wess would come correct with a gang of hard-hitting punchlines (especially during a spitfire round 2), wily name flips, piercing similes, a couple of fly rebuttals of his own and a crazy NYC scheme. Close throughout, a crazy haymaker of a rebuttal at the end of his round (which up till then was equally punch-lit on both sides) would edge Chef round 1. The 2nd round while competitive, saw Wess performing crazy and consistently punching at such a sublime level (i.e. classic) that even a pretty solid and gritty turn by Trez couldn’t keep up. In the deciding 3rd, despite struggling a bit with his flow, Wess would still deliver a dope, punch-worthy and winnable turn. But never one to slouch, the Chef would come back with some fire rebuttals that coupled with a well-themed, righteously personal and fierce 3rd to force a tie and overall, a debatable battle.
Verdict: TIE
Favorite line: Jerry Wess – “You did a freestyle about me petting a llama, that shit wasn’t true neither, P’ll kidnap your bitch at the same place with the animals let the zoo keep her [zookeeper]!”
